Inventory
by SubstandardProducer
Summary: These are the things Team Seven carried.   Inspired by "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. Hinted KakaIru.


Inventory

Inspired by "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

These were the things Team Seven carried.

They all carried weapons. Naruto carried an assortment of the standard shiruken and kunai. Sasuke carried those and some oversized "windmill" shiruken. Sakura carried the standard weaponry, plus the sharp blade of her analytical mind. Kakashi carried more weapons than he would probably ever get to use.

If the mission was more than a day long, they each carried a bedroll and a change of underwear. If it was more than a few days long, they carried a change of outer clothes. They always carried matches, in case they needed to light a fire and Sasuke's kamui would give them away.

Each of them carried field rations, water bottles, and water purifying tablets. In case they ran out or eating them would take too much time, Kakashi kept a canister of "soldier pills" in his medkit, along with chakra booster tablets and emergency amphetamines. If the mission would probably last a while, they carried a bit of "treat" food- Naruto carried a brick of cheap ramen, Sakura carried dried fruit, and Kakashi and Sasuke were partial to beef jerky and smoked fish. Naruto carried a bowl and chopsticks, but the rest of them ate with kunai.

They each wore the hitai-ate of their village tied around their heads and standard sandals on their feet. In between, they threaded their belts through equipment pouches and strapped holsters to their pant legs. Kakashi wore the uniform and flak vest of a Konoha jounin, and the others wore clothes that could pass for everyday outfits that they could move freely in.

All of them carried a standard medkit- adhesive and cloth bandages, antiseptic, penicillin, sunblock, antivenin and antidotes for common poisons, sterilizing alcohol, and tourniquets. The supplies weren't enough to treat every injury or completely deal with a major wound; they were intended only to keep them alive until they got home.

If it looked like the weather was going to be miserable, they carried a tarp to set up if they could. If it was cold, the genin carried gloves and Kakashi carried a scarf. They usually carried scentless soap and deodorant on longer missions. Naruto carried fishing line, Sakura and Sasuke carried wire, and Kakashi carried summoning scrolls and exploding tags.

When the mission allowed them to reveal their identities, or if it involved diplomacy or crossing the borders of a friendly land, they carried their ID papers. They always wore their dog tags around their necks, printed with their ID number but not their name.

If there was room in their packs or pockets (and they, like all shinobi, _made_ room any time they possibly could), they carried small items for comfort and confidence. Naruto had his bowl and chopsticks, Kakashi his trusty orange paperback, Sakura a cheesy good-luck charm her parents gave her as an Academy graduation present, Sasuke a small packet of unscented hair gel.

Kakashi also carried what looked like a blank white paper rectangle the size of the palm of his hand. It wasn't- it was a photograph treated specially to be blank unless he sent a pulse of chakra into it. The picture under the treatment was of his lover, leaning up against their bedroom wall by the window. It was treated so if Kakashi died, some particularly vindictive enemy couldn't tell that he had a lover, that anyone was precious to him besides his teammates (and if he was dead, they would be dead too). In the photo, his lover had his hair down (Kakashi loved it when he left it down) and was smiling warmly. That smile was _good luck,_ it was _I love you, _it was_ come back safe. Come home to me._

Kakashi had memorized that smile, just as he had memorized his lover's voice, his body, his heart, his scars; just as his lover had memorized him. He carried those memories alongside that photograph, alongside the memory of the morning before each mission, when he would quietly get out of bed early in the morning and pack. His lover would always wake up, no matter how hard Kakashi tried not to disturb him. He would awaken and look at him with deep brown eyes and give him a kiss goodbye, and he would store his own memories.

Those were the memories that everyone in the village knew; the early morning memories of a husband, a wife, a son, a daughter, a lover, a friend. The memories of wishing luck when all you wanted to do was hold them and refuse to let them go. But people like his lover knew that their precious people were soldiers first-they were usually soldiers themselves. So they watched them go in the early morning and held on to hope.

Each of Team Seven carried the knowledge that made them effective shinobi: knowledge of tactics and techniques, nature and human nature, hand signs and strategy and history and the harsh knowledge of experience. They carried the will, the confidence, and the honor they were given by their village and their comrades; the compassion they found in their hearts; the duty etched with the leaf on their headbands. They wore their past like their packs and felt it in their scars and the swirls of chakra in their bodies.

Sasuke carried vengeance and a private darkness, Naruto carried the sweetness of a goal and the beauty of belonging, Kakashi carried a life's responsibilities and a dear friend's final gift, and Sakura carried determination and a need to find her true vocation. Among the weapons and mementos they carried feelings and memories, and they held onto their home and humanity with both hands until they saw the gates of Konoha again, until they didn't need to carry anything anymore.

**%%%**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Naruto and all characters and trademarks therefrom is (c) Masashi Kishimoto.**


End file.
